Player ratings vs Everton: Chelsea is efficient and satisfactory
Fresh off the back of an impressive victory at Anfield last Thursday, Chelsea welcomed Liverpool’s Merseyside neighbors to the Bridge last night. The Blues had an opportunity to pull further away from their most immediate threat of a top-four finish and they did it in some style. Thomas Tuchel continues his unbeaten start to life at the helm of affairs as he continues to steer his new employers in the right direction. The German made a few changes to his starting XI for this one including a first league start of his era for Kai Havertz who served up a reminder of why Chelsea broke its transfer record to acquire his signature. Kai Havertz ran the show but how did all of the Chelsea players do individually as they beat Everton in a convincing, efficient, and satisfactory manner?
Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper): 6.5/10
Chelsea’s number one had little to do as the defense in front of him limited Everton to only one effort on target which he comfortably dealt with. His distribution was okay to say the least, and he helped douse a couple of aerial threats as the Toffees pushed for a way back into the game. Once again, Mendy recorded another shut out and he is now up to 13 for the league season.
Cesar Azpilicueta (Centerback): 6.5/10
Azpilicueta has played every league game under Tuchel’s tutelage and it is not hard to see why. For a right hand side that was very attacking inclined with James and Werner on it, the Spaniard helped to provide a much-needed defensive balance, mopping up some potential counter attacking opportunities before they developed into anything consequential. After eight years of excellent service for Chelsea, the skipper doesn’t look as if he is done yet.
Andreas Christensen (Centerback): 7.5/10
When Thiago Silva pulled up in Chelsea’s win at Tottenham, many fans feared for how the back-line would fare in his absence. Since then, the Blues have kept six clean sheets in eight game and central to that has been Andreas Christensen. The Dane has really come into his own these last few games and looks reminiscent of the man that was awarded the Chelsea Young Player of the year in 2018. He made one crucial tackle to deny Richarlison what would have been a clear sight of goal.
Kurt Zouma (Centerback): 6/10
Zouma was one of the few changes made by Tuchel for this one, replacing Antonio Rudiger on the left of a three-man defense. The French defender did a good job in shutting down any threat he was faced with. His night looked to have been over when he went down with an injury but to the relief of many who thought that his injury woes were back, he stayed on to complete the game against his former side.